IndiGo aims to have 40% international flights by the turn of this decade, even as India’s largest airline by passengers carried grapples with a crisis at home.
The airline operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. aims to carry 20 crore people on more than 4,000 daily flights by 2030, Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said on the sidelines of the Wings India 2026 event in Hyderabad Wednesday. “We are a fit for purpose airline,” he said, in what was his first media interaction since the flight crisis in December 2025.
IndiGo triggered one of the India’s worst aviation crisis in December 2025 after it canceled nearly 3,000 flights due to mismanagement of its pilot roster amid new rules for rest between flights. Nearly five lakh passengers were stranded across India’s airports, resulting in chaotic scenes, as the low-cost airline paid the price of its relentless optimisation.
The IndiGo flight crisis wiped out nearly 80% of the company’s net profit in the October-December quarter, as it accounted for penalties and refunds.
IndiGo Q3 Results FY26 (Consolidated, YoY)
- Revenue up 6.15% at ₹23,472 crore
- EBITDAR up 5.45% at ₹6,990 crore
- EBITDAR margin flat at 30%
- Net profit down 78% at ₹550 crore
The decline in profit was on account of one-time exceptional costs as under:
- Flight disruptions in December 2025: ₹577 crore
- Implementation of new labour codes: ₹969 crore
Still, Elbers believes IndiGo is operationally sound.
“Our long-term fundamentals remain strong, backed by our expanding fleet, growing domestic and international network,” he had said in a statement accompanying the earnings on 22 January.
To be sure, IndiGo is India’s largest international airline in terms of air traffic. The airline carried 41.36 lakh passengers to and from India in July-September 2025, according to data on the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. In comparison, Air India and Air India Express together had an international traffic of 40.99 lakh.
The rankings have flipped since Air India has reduced number of international flights following a plane crash in June killed all but one passengers on board. That created a gap, which IndiGo quickly filled in by increasing flights on key international routes.
IndiGo, at present, has a fleet of 440 planes and operates over 2,200 flights. In 2025, the carrier flew 124 million passengers. Nearly 900 aircraft, including 39 Airbus A321 XLRs, are on order for the airline.
On Wednesday, IndiGo shares fell 0.44% to ₹4,748.45 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.60% higher at 82,344.68 points.
With inputs from PTI.
